It is indeed so very long – this longhouse at Rantau Kemeding in Kanowit…
…sited along the very serene Kanowit River…
I came here for the Gawai Dayak Festival way back in 1978 and 1979, if I remember correctly but of course, it was not as nice then…
In my previous post, I mentioned that Philip and I went to Kanowit and we bumped into an old friend who brought us here on a wonderful guided tour of the place. Being linked to Kanowit town by tar road, it is now conveniently accessible by car unlike way back then, when we had to use an outboard-engine powered longboat…or walk/cycle along a small pebbled lane all the way to the longhouse.
If you look from where I was standing in the ruai (the common area or community hall in the longhouse), it is very long on this side…
…and even longer down the other side…
We were lucky because they had visitors that day so the people at the longhouse were all prepared to welcome them.
There was their traditional rice wine – the tuak…
…and all these – I’m not too sure but I’ve seen people using the pop-rice (like how people make pop corn) for the mering or blessing ceremony…
Then there was the ranyai…
…a banana tree from which they hang all kinds of goodies. They will dance around the tree with a parang (traditional sword) and try to cut the strings. If anything gets cut loose and drops from the tree, that will be the prize for the dancer.
Of course, for the welcoming, they had some dancers all ready to do the ngajat (traditional dance)…
…and there was the “music band” in attendance…
In a longhouse, the families will stay in their own bilik which is like a house by itself with its own sitting room, bedrooms, kitchen and all…so in essence, a longhouse is like a terrace house except that they share a common ruai and verandah. I entered the bilik belonging to the tuai rumah (headman) and look at what I saw!
The complete set of Encyclopedia Americana…
…and lots of English books – including Ernest Hemingway’s biography…
…and Mario Pusi’s “The Godfather – glimpses at our illustrious colonial past and our English education in days gone by.
Well, if anybody happens to be interested, you can log in to their website: http://rantaukemiding.blogspot.com and if you want to drop by on a visit, the tuai rumah‘s contact numbers are 084-753563 or 013-8823076.
I certainly enjoyed the visit so much…and I met my friend’s mother who could still remember me and an ex-student of mine who now has a grown-up daughter. Gee! How time flies and how things have changed over the years!
Comments on: "So long, so long…" (40)
Memories of yester years…. They have a primary school next to the longhouse. Manage to meet Mr. Boniface James at the longhouse. During my time there, the road leading to the longhouse was not tar sealed.
What more to say my time? Boni’s joined SMKK when I was in my 2nd year there, I think – he played the guitar and was the one who pushed me into singing – never used to sing before…or at least, not in public.
Oo, a longhouse. But this longhouse is really their home? Or is it only for show?
That’s their home all right – communal living, one big happy family…something you can’t find in the cities where people do not even know their own neighbours. Each family has their own bilik though. Gee! So many things here that you do not know – about time you drop by for a visit.
lol, that hurts, i know a long house from what i read in textbooks
but the pictures looked like this was a commercialized longhouse? 
coming soon bro
LOL!!! Oh…kesian. No lah…things change, people progress mah…also know how to beautify their houses. You are coming…???
Yes, I am curious too.. is this meant for tourists only? They sleep and cook there too as well, right? How about the bathrooms? How many are there in such a long long house? Very fascinating…
Nope. That’s where and the way they live. Not going to answer any questions – just come and I’ll take you there…and you can see and find out for yourself. LOL!!!
How very interesting. So much culture in Malaysia that we haven’t experienced. Thanks for giving us a peek.
Yes, and so many have travelled far and wide…but unfortunately, they do not seem to be aware of the rich culture right here at their doorstep.
Paradise on earth (except for the mosquitoes). Found out the Tuai Rumah is a retired Shell Executive, a graduate of the University of Hawaii. That explains the books. Well, wouldn’t mind retiring there myself one day.
Oh? And I can remember how stunned you were when he asked to visit his blog! LOL!!!
i also read about it on kajian tempatan and sejarah back in school, but i’ve yet to see a rumah panjang with my very own eyes
Come on over,Ken. Would be glad to take you there…
This is not the long house setting that i once visited 20 years ago, back then i remember they didn’t look so chic, i could still see crossbones and skulls hung on the beams supporting the roof, much less Mario Puzo and Ernest Hemmingway juga…..
actually i like Sarawak, development sometimes is not so good, we lose the old school charm, the sense of nostalgia and eventually people tend to be more money minded, hahahahahahaha
Pusi, Mario Pusi… Adoi! You, Penang city people, lose out to the Sarawak longhouse people liao lor! Blush! Blush! Muahahahaha!!!!
That was long ago – they used to be dark and murky…and had pit latrines with no doors (like toilets in China) and all those black skulls hanging from the ceiling. No crossbones lah! You’ve been watching too many “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies… 
nvr knew the longhouse would be situated in a taman-like place. i thought longhouses r mostly in those dense jungles, where skulls from previous headhuntings are dangling merrily at the verandah LOL! But i’d love to visit those very traditional types of rumah panjang. seems so exotic and mysterious to me.
how does tuak taste like?
Come on over and taste for yourself. Nice…but there are sour ones.
You will have to go into the interior to find the authentic longhouses as many would imagine them to be. Those near the towns or easily accessible from the towns would have progressed and become more modern. Time moves on and people and places change.
Change! Progress! Aren’t these what everybody is fighting for? Not fair to them also if we expect them to stay stagnant and primitive forever… They also want change.
with the whole kampung living under the same roof… with common living area summore… it got me wondering how they *ahem ahem* LOL. u know la, sure got those kaypoh chees who go and place their ears against the bedroom door at nite, muahahaha!
You haven’t heard about my next door neighbour at that room I mentioned in my previous post. Whole family in one little room (slightly bigger than a double bed) and they had one every year… Now, you can go and work that out – how it was possible… LOL!!! Hmmmm….so do you put your ears on your parents’ bedroom door too? Tsk! Tsk!
You mean we can just rock in unannounced and do a walkabout? You know, I am very ashamed of myself..been to many places but have never set foot in Sabah and Sarawak…opps…I tell a lie. I did stop at Kuching airport…or is it KK airport forgot already) when we went to Perth a few years back. Lagi teruk when hub flew to Sabah and Sarawak on a weekly basis in those days and when he asked mo ikut tak, I’ll just say..huh? go there for what? See lar…ignorance!!! Lucky I’ve found you…cewah!!!
Well, not too late. We can go when you’re here. Yes, we can drop by unannounced but there will not be any of those ceremonies – can only see them going on with their daily lives like on any other normal day. I would contact my friend to let her know so at least, she might be able to arrange for them to cook some ayam/babi pansoh for us – ethnic delicacy – chicken/pork cooked in bamboo. Yum! Yum!
Yalor…all West Malaysians the same…look down on East Malaysians…think we’re so backward and everything’s so dead boring here. Humph!!! Tsk! Tsk! >.<
No lar…where we westies got look down on you all…don’t say like that lar…just ignorance only ma. In fact, I know for a fact you all very rich…send the young for their education to overseas. Almost if not all Malaysian I jumpa overseas come from either sabah or sarawak!!!
…and if you ask further, you will find that the majority of them are Foochows…from Sibu. Lots of them in Christchurch. LOL!!!
Eh, you know or not in Selangor also ada long houses.Those setinggan area when the goverment demolished their tempat, will be given a hse quite similar in concept…they build long houses but without the communal area lar and they called it rumah panjang.
Oh gosh! I’ve seen those…in the orang asli resettlement areas. They’re just a single storey barrack kind of dwelling – where got the same as our rumah panjang. Tsk! Tsk!
I have those long houses in Kuching…simple yet amazing.
I wonder which one you went to. Some, like the one at Kpg Bunuk is more a round house…and the houses are constructed around a common verandah that acts like a courtyard. Not exactly long in the true sense of the word, that one…
of course I don’t have them..sorry, I hv just SEEN them
Good for you. Kuching, you have the Bidayuh ones…and the Iban ones. Dunno which one you went to. In this area, mostly, if not all, are Ibans.
Oh love the gamelan music..thought they do not have rooms and sleep openly in the whole stretch of the long long long house. The tuak in XO bottle? What if the dancer accidentally chop down the banana tree will he get all the presents? lolz. tQ for the tour so no need to go see the actual muahahaha.
What gamelan? Tsk! Tsk! You sesat lah! Gamelan’s Malay…or Balinese. Here, we have the ethnic Iban traditional music…and to the east of the state, the Orang Ulus – the Kayan, Kenyahs and others have the sape – the traditional guitar. Different music and different dances too.
Ummm…same as in my reply to Claire. Not going to answer your questions. You will just have to come over and visit…and find out for yourself. Hehehehehe!!!!
Wow!….the ruai of the longhouse so long. Actually I was wondering how many houses from one end to the other. Looks clean, neat and tidy.The colour of the tuak looks nice. The taste like foochow red wine kah?
You’ve never tried tuak? Go, go Holiday Inn or whatever name it is called now – the Lobby Bar, they serve that there. I think they call it The Headhunter…and last time, we could take the nice mug home. As for the longhouse, it has 64 pintu according to the brochure…so some 60 or so families live in that longhouse.
I tried tuak… and nira nipah before… but i did not like it.
What’s nira nipah? Toddy kah?
Dunno worr…it was served to me when I visited a friend… says it’s nira nipah…makes me abit mabuk mabuk wan.
I guess it wasn’t “langkau”. One sip and you can feel fire coming out of your nose, your eyes, your eyes…like concentrated spirit! Was served that at the Bidayuh longhouse at Kpg Bunuk, Kuching side. Never again will I touch the stuff!
OK lah local Kanowit tribal ‘gamelan’ lohhhh heheh. Who knows its was the original gamelan from Kanowit but the Balinese and Malaisiya copy and call it their own gamelan..hahaha. Aiya OK lah you always malas nak reply, Claire & Bananaz also malas nak tanya loh kita diam diam sahaja muahahaha..~;).
As the English proverb goes, ignorance is bliss! LOL!!!
Sometimes, English is so weird… Ignorance is bliss… or Knowledge is power? Hmm… I always kena my students ask. =.=
See my reply to Bananaz… Conclusion: Ignorance IS bliss! What you don’t know wouldn’t hurt you. LOL!!!
Cleffairy: Younger days used to hear motivational guru say “knowledge is power” then few years later ‘money is power’..think quite safe for Bananaz to say “love is power”..~;).
…and they also said, “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely!” But we are NOT going to go any further into this! FULL STOP! LOL!!!
Whoa! Very interesting documentary on the rumah panjang, Cikgu… I like the traditional baju, so pretty… wish I can wear it one day.
VERY VERY expensive…with all the silver accessories and all… Otherwise, I would have bought for Melissa to bring over to NZ and wear on their Malaysian cultural nights.
Ya, I kno… not easy to sew the baju oso…I have a friend who have such baju… and she told me cost hundreds!
The “puak” (native cloth – original hand woven, not factory printed with the ethnic designs) would cost over RM100, before tailoring into a skirt…and then you have to sew the old brass bells…and then there is the silver belt and the dangling antique silver coins…and the colourful beadwork thing they wear around the neck…and the silver headdress, the bracelets, anklets, the antique silver purse that they carry etc etc etc… Thousands, I tell you, if you want the authentic complete works!
Ah! This is modern long house. I been once, it also a modern type, i think we went to the one in between Bintangor and Kanowit? Forgot the small town name. They even got washing machine and TV.
I would love to visit those really typical type of long house, shame to say, i am from Sarawak, but i never been to one that is the not-so-modern type. Maybe now hard to find anymore? It would be interesting, if go visit them during Gawai? I heard you will have to drink tuak from one end till the end?
Not really. I never had to drink as I told them I was allergic to alcohol.
I think you went to one in Julau. Well, if you want to go to an authentic one these days, you probably would have to go deep into the interior. I’m glad I went to Bawang Assan in 1989…and it was still not so modern then…and this particular longhouse in 1978 and 1979 was quite traditional as well at the time.
What a nice experience! Have been to a long house before in KK many years ago.. but they didn’t have any tuak welcoming us. LOL! This looks tidy and well maintained. Great job!
Longhouse in KK? Which ethnic group? Kadazan? It seems that there are some differences between our longhouses…just like the Bidayuh and Iban longhouses in Sarawak – they’re not really the same.
alamak….just saw TV news say got one rumah Panjang at Kanowit terbakar la.
Hah! At least when you saw that, you would not think it was Kuwait and you would know what a longhouse is. It’s Leo Moggie’s longhouse in Bawan – different one and not as near to Kanowit town as this one, just the same district. He was Minister of Energy or something, not sure now.
It looks like you had fun! I haven’t been to Kanowit in a couple of years. I’ll love to stay at a long house, drink some tuak, eat some authentic food.
Encyclopedia Americana. Now that’s unusual! Britannica is the common one.
I think my school had both sets when I was still studying. Well, the tuai rumah was educated in Hawaii.
They gave us some tuak as we were leaving…and it’s my fridge. Want some? Hahahahaha!!!! 
I am ashamed to say that I have not set my foot in a long house. My dad used to point those long house to us kids when we went travelling by car to Kanowit, Mukah, Kuching etc but there was no opportunity for us to visit any long house before.
Can bring your kids to Kanowit one of these days and visit this longhouse at the same time – show them your roots. LOL!!!
I would so love to pay a visit someday. The only views I’ve had of the longhouses were all from documentaries. KInda shudder that some longhouses require a ritual of guests killing a pig. :S
+Ant+
Oh? I had a photo taken long ago – holding a spear and the piglet in a gunny sack…but I did not stay to see them pierce it. It’s a traditional ritual. Then for the mering (blessing, they would slice the chicken’s throat and sprinkle the blood over the pop-rice and everything…. So when are you coming?
Sarawak, one place I’m missing with my Travels at the moment. So many things to try there, Tuak, their food and wonderful Heritage. Someone Sponsor me
Too bad you do not belong to the right blogger clique. A few of them came on July 1st on the Firefly promo tour in conjunction with its inaugural flight here. I hear the next one will be to Sandakan, Sabah…so you can try to get into contact with the “right people” if you’re keen on joining them? But if you want to come to Sibu, well…everyone can fly! LOL!!!
it would be nice to have an immersion there…hearing conversations of neighbors and other stuff.
I grew up in wooden houses with thin walls (but not long) but somehow we did not hear a thing…
have never been to a sarawak rumah panjang before, and yeah, this one you visited is really a long one.. and good for you that they are having some guests and you are joining them for a lifetime experience..
I really enjoyed the visit. It has been so very long since I’ve been to one… I certainly would love to go again.
I was here too!
Very picturesque. The people are very hospitable. Kanowit is one of the cleanest and scenic district ive been to so far.
Yes, I’ve always loved what they’ve done to Kanowit – so nice, and definitely a lot nicer than when I was there in the late 70s. Wish I could say the same about Kapit though…
Wah, nice river…..a good place to fish….
I saw a BIG “ang bak chiew” (red eyes), some call it “ang bak tai” inthe town – very rare (extinct) river fish…so very nice, so very sweet…but have to be careful of the forked bones…but I did not buy as I did not know how long I would be there before I went home – might go bad. The last time I ate that fish was when I was teaching in Kanowit. Imagine how long ago that was…
i would have mistaken the tuak for a whisky! I heard that Tuak is a very strong liquor. Not everyone can take it.
Tuak is ok… Langkau is the concentrated spirit – terrible! But if the tuak is sweet (some may be sour, not so good), you will love it so much that you would drink and drink, enjoying it…no effect…but when the kick comes, you’ll be sprawling on the floor. They say the effect’s like vodka.
i would love to stay there on the river side.. what a very relaxing ambiance
Yes, me too! It looks so soothing….
you should have brought me there….thats my longhouse, from my paternal side. a few of the ladies playing the traditional instruments are my aunties. my dad sister is the one in black (centre) sitting behind the “orchestra”. i was there b4 gawai. seldom go back there but they have a nice homestay chalet and have internet access. the longhouse chief used to work with an oil n gas company, thats y u see many books in his room hehehehehehhe cheers STP!
Yes, that’s what I hears about the tuai rumah. I thought you’re from Durin side. So you’re related to the Bennets and the Umpaus? Humph…you always went to Kanowit yourself – never took me along…
My mom from Durin. i guess im related to d Bennets n d umpaus from kanowit but i dont really know many of them (sad eh?) hehehehmaybe we can go together to kanowit soon for jalan jalan cari makan hehehehehe they have good mee goreng basah there. cheers!
Yes, Penang Cafe’s is good…and Lian Ho too. Where do you usually have yours?
[...] try a bit of the traditional Iban rice wine – the tuak that my friend gave me when I visited her longhouse in Kanowit not too long ago. Shereen liked it a lot and wanted to have more but I would not let her as that [...]